If a person dies without a Will, in NSW that person?s Estate will be distributed in accordance with the law of intestacy. Generally speaking, those laws provide that the Estate will go to the deceased person's next of kin.

To administer an Estate where there is no Will, an application for Letters of Administration needs to be made to the Supreme Court of NSW. The purpose of such an application is to provide to the court a list of assets comprising the Estate and to establish the persons who are entitled by law to share in distribution of the Estate. The Grant of Letters of Administration is also the document that authorises the next of kin (or other applicant) to deal with the deceased person?s Estate.

Our Wills and Estates team look after all stages of an Application for a Grant of Letters of Administration including:

º  Determining who is the proper Applicant.
º  Determining who are the proper beneficiaries entitled in distribution of the Estate
º  Obtaining all documents necessary to prove the persons entitled.
º  Placing of the necessary advertisements in the applicable newspaper
º  Preparation of an Inventory of Property
º  Drafting all documents required by the Court
º  Lodging required documents at the Court.
º  Responding to any Court requisitions.


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